New facebrick primary school to serve Daveyton youth

The Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School, overseen by Peter Manana, the capable and passionate principal, will provide an education and a solid grounding to 1587 students a year, from Grade R to Grade 7. Daveyton is one of the largest townships in South Africa with a population of over 130,000 in its 14km2 radius.

Named after the famed teacher and politician, construction on the Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School began on 14 November 2012, and was completed less than five months later on 12 April 2013. "This is the quickest school that I have ever seen going up," states Manana. "Typically a school of this size will take two years to complete," he says.

Meticulous, durable, low maintenance construction

The Department of Education designs prototype schools and architects help with the working drawings and the specification of materials. Designed by Selby Shiba Architects, the school makes extensive use of facebrick which was specified by the Gauteng Department of Education. Contractor Joe Manonga from Clear Choice Construction was awarded the contract for the project, and the fact that he was constantly on site supervising the project has been cited as the main reason for the quick though meticulous construction. The contractor was so involved in the build that he even purchased furniture and mowers to cut the grass of the playing fields as part of his turnkey service. As a result of the success of the completed project, Clear Choice has been awarded a further contract to build a school in Hammanskraal.

Four other schools following the same plan and same style are being constructed in Palm Ridge, Slovoville, Midrand and Randburg. All were started last year, but the Daveyton school is the first one to be completed.

For all the publicity afforded to newer lightweight building techniques, this project has proved that facebrick can more than hold its own in the face of the competition. Moreover, the longevity of facebrick and its minimal maintenance needs were what convinced the Gauteng Department of Education to go with the material. Half a million of Corobrik's Village Antique Travertine facebricks were used along with over 200,000 clay pavers. The school is built from facebrick to the top of window height on the exterior and to 1,2m inside. Dharmesh Desai from Bricks for Africa supplied the bricks. As a distributor of Corobrik products he has a good relationship with both the company and the building contractor, and as a result he was instrumental in specifying Corobrik Cedarberg, Tuscan and Burgundy pavers. Clay face brick is in many ways synonymous with institutions of learning, and one cannot escape the integrity that brick brings to school construction, be it inside our outside. Large paved courtyards give the pupils a safe and secure place to enjoy their breaks, where single bullnosed bricks are used to create areas for the children to sit in comfort.

Empowerment through education

A notable aspect of the school is that the Grade R facility is separate, providing newcomers to schooling life a protected environment in which to develop. "This wasn't the case previously in many other schools, and it led to bullying of the younger children," notes Manana. Apart from the large Grade R subdivision, the single story school has been divided into class areas, each with their own walled-in play area, and includes 27 brightly coloured and inviting classrooms, three courtyards, an admin building which houses the principal's and vice principal's offices, a library, computer centre, sick bays, two storerooms, an HOD office and a reception area, as well as a multi-use sports field which is watered by a borehole on the premises. Covered walkways join the classroom wings with the main building, and throughout the school, top-quality finishes have been used, such as granite tops in the bathrooms, solar geysers to allow learners to enjoy hot showers after playing sport and automatic taps that turn themselves off to save water. The school's tuck shop has its own kitchen, ensuring that the learners have the benefit of a feeding scheme so that they each receive a nutritious meal at school.

"We wanted something for the teachers, the pupils and their parents to be proud of," says Manana. "With the facilities now in place, we can ensure that effective teaching will take place. Through education we are empowering the community with knowledge and skills, keeping the children off the streets and away from the lure of drugs and crime. At Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School we want to give the pupils the kind of education that will allow them to overcome their future challenges without hindrances," he states.

The school has been constructed in a relatively new area of Daveyton where previously no schools were available to cater for the community's educational needs. In fact, 950 of the learners were being accommodated in portable classrooms at the nearby Secondary School prior to taking occupation of the new facility. By involving the residents in this growing community, and giving them a sense of ownership of the school, this highly successful project could be a catalyst for positive growth in the area, and the humble facebrick is at the heart of it all.

For more information, go to www.corobrik.co.za.